Faculty

Boris Birmaher, MD

Boris Birmaher, MD

Endowed Chair in Early Onset Bipolar Disease and Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry

Contact Details

3811 O'Hara St.
Pittsburgh
 
PA
 
15213
Email
Website
Child and Adolescent Bipolar Spectrum Services
Assistant
Rita Scholle
schollere@upmc.edu

Education & Training

MD
Valle College of Medicine
Medicine, Valle College of Medicine, Cali, Colombia
General Psychiatry, Haddassah Medical College and the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
Clinical Research, Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and New York Psychiatric Institute
Child Psychiatry, Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and New York Psychiatric Institute
Biological Psychiatry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Professional Affiliations

Member, American Psychiatric Association
Member, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Member, Society of Biological Psychiatry
Member, Hispanic Mental Health Association
Member, Allegheny County Medical Society

Selected Honors & Awards

Ruane Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Research, Brain & Behavior Research Foundation
C. Charles Burlingame Award, The Institute of Living
Excellence in Psychiatry Award, American Society of Hispanic Psychiatry
Colvin Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Mood Disorders Research, Brain & Behavior Research Foundation
Ellen Frank Psychiatric Research Award, Mental Health Association of Allegheny County

Research Interests

Bipolar spectrum disorders; Mood and anxiety disorders; Phenomenology, course & treatment
Selected Research Publications & Products
  1. Birmaher B, Hafeman D, Merranko J, Zwicker A, Goldstein B, Goldstein T, Axelson D, Monk K, Hickey M, Sakolsky D, Iyengar S, Diler R, Nimgaonkar V, Uher R. Role of polygenic risk score in the familial transmission of bipolar disorder in youth. JAMA Psychiatry 2022 Feb 1;79(2):160-168. PMID 34935868.
  2. Birmaher B, Merranko J, Hafeman D, Goldstein B, Diler R, Levenson J, Monk K, Iyengar S, Hickey M, Sakolsky D, Axelson D, Goldstein T. A longitudinal study of psychiatric disorders in offspring of parents with bipolar disorder from preschool to adolescence. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2021 Nov;60(11):1419-1429. PMID: 33785405. PMCID: PMC8473582.
  3. Birmaher B, Merranko J, Gill MK, Hafeman D, Goldstein T, Goldstein B, Hower H, Strober M, Axelson D, Ryan N, Yen S, Diler R, Iyengar S, Kattan M, Weinstock L, Keller M. Predicting personalized risk of mood recurrences in youths and young adults with bipolar disorder. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2020 Jan 21 (Online ahead of print). PMID: 31978620. PMCID: PMC7371512.
  4. Birmaher B, Gill MK, Axelson DA, Goldstein BI, Goldstein TR, Yu H, Liao F, Iyengar S, Diler RS, Strober M, Hower H, Yen S, Hunt J, Merranko JA, Ryan ND, Keller MB. Longitudinal trajectories and associated baseline predictors in youths with bipolar spectrum disorders. Am J Psychiatry, 2014 Sep; 171(9):990-9. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp. 2014. 13121577. PMID 24874203. PMCID: PMC4164021.
  5. Birmaher B, Axelson DA, Monk K, Kalas C, Clark DB, Ehmann M, Bridge J, Heo J, Brent DA. Fluoxetine for the treatment of childhood anxiety disorders. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2003;42(4):415-23. PMID: 12649628.

Clinical Interests

Pediatric mood and anxiety disorders
Selected Clinical Publications & Products
  1. Birmaher B, Diler R, Gill MK, Hafeman D, Goldstein T, Sakolsky d. Pediatric Bipolar Disorder: Phenomenology, Differential Diagnosis, and Course. In: Passos I, Berk M, Kapczinski F, eds. Bipolar Disorder: An Evidence-Based Clinical Guide. Switzerland: Springer, 2025
  2. Birmaher B, Goldstein T, Goldstein B. Bipolar Disorders. In: Martin A, Volkmar FR, eds. Lewiss Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: A Comprehensive Textbook. 5th ed. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer, 2025.
  3. Birmaher B. Up-To-Date Pediatric Bipolar Disorder: Assessment and Diagnosis, and Clinical Manifestations and Course of Illness, 2025
  4. Birmaher B, Brent D, Bernet W, Bukstein O, Walter H, Benson RS, Chrisman A, Farchione T, Greenhill L, Hamilton J, Keable H, Kinlan J, Schoettle U, Stock S, Ptakowski KK, Medicus J. Practice parameter for the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with depressive disorders. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2007;46(11):1503-26. PMID: 18049300. 10075518.
  5. Birmaher B, Brent DA, Chiappetta L, Bridge J, Monga S, Baugher M. Psychometric properties of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED): A replication study. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1999;38(10):1230-6. PMID: 10517055.

Education Interests

Medical and resident education; Research mentorship; Mentoring international scholars

Pitt Psychiatry Recognized by the Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health & the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Awards

The University of Pittsburgh Department of Psychiatry has received recent honors from the Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ACAMH) The ACAMH, based in London, UK, is a multidisciplinary organization that promotes the advancement of child and adolescent mental health. Boris Birmaher, MD...

Psychiatry Research: Neural Markers of Mania That Distinguish Inpatient Adolescents with Bipolar Disorder from Those with Other Psychopathology

Drs. Rasim Diler and Michele Bertocci

Adolescents with manic or hypomanic episodes—key features of bipolar disorder (BD)—may experience delayed correct diagnosis or inappropriate treatment because some symptoms of BD are also seen in other disorders (such as unipolar depressive disorders and attention deficit/hyperactive disorder). A team of scientists from the University of Pittsburgh including Michele Bertocci, PhD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry)...

Behavioral Health Experts, Patients & Families Attend Child and Adolescent Bipolar Spectrum Services Conference

Rasim Diler, MD and Boris Birmaher, MD

The fifth Child and Adolescent Bipolar Services (CABS) conference, focused on pediatric bipolar disorder spectrum disorders, addressed the theme, “Irritability and Bipolar Spectrum Disorders in Youth: Facts and Myths-Assessment, Monitoring and Treatment.” The CABS conference presents current research and clinical knowledge about the treatment of bipolar disorder and comorbid conditions to professionals, patients...

JAMA Psychiatry: Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Adolescents With Bipolar Disorder 

Dr. Tina Goldstein

Up to 50% of youth with bipolar spectrum disorder attempt suicide, and of all psychiatric diagnoses, bipolar spectrum disorder imparts the greatest risk of death by suicide in adolescents. Although multiple psychosocial interventions are effective for mood stabilization and for decreasing the risk of mood episode recurrence, no treatment specifically targets suicidal behavior in youth with bipolar spectrum disorder...

Boris Birmaher, MD, Receives Prestigious Ruane and Burlingame Prizes 

Dr. Boris Birmaher

It is our great pleasure to announce that Boris Birmaher, MD (Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Endowed Chair in Early Onset Bipolar Disease), has been honored with two major prizes in the field of psychiatry: the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation Ruane Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Research, and the Institute of Living’s 2022 C. Charles Burlingame Award. The Ruane...